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sinbooks's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
hjlynch_26's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
amc_123's review against another edition
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
rachael99's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
eib_21's review against another edition
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
deegee24's review against another edition
3.0
A play about the inner turmoil of an Irishman from a small town who has decided to emigrate to America. The play was written and first performed in the mid-1960s, long after the peak period of Irish immigration to the US and other countries. Yet Ireland was continuing to lose population, to the point where the government made a deal with the US to limit Irish visas. This play is not really about what we think of today as the typical immigrant experience. The lead character, Gareth (aka Gar), is neither a political refugee nor an economically distressed migrant worker. He is the son of a middle-class shopkeeper. The woman he loved married someone else so he feels lost. He has relatives in the States who offer to sponsor him, and so the opportunity to make a fresh start presents itself. Yet on the eve of leaving home, he is still traumatized by memories of friends and family. The "small town boy leaves home" story is almost a cliche at this point, but Friel makes the play fresh through the device of dividing the main character into two acting roles: there is a Public Gar and a Private Gar. Private Gar is like the voice inside your head, reliving moments of regret or providing color commentary on your social interactions. The staging of this play reminds me of Death of a Salesman, in that the other actors onstage sometimes represent Gar's memories and sometimes real people interacting with Public Gar in the present. Friel, like Miller, is able to escape the bounds of a conventional three-act drama while presenting a remarkably coherent and moving portrait of a funny/sad family relationship.
saoirse_duffy234's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
extremely boring, all of the characters are unlikeable and are extremely annoying
flowingleaves's review
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
kevina's review against another edition
5.0
Really a great play. Poignant, sad, fun, beautiful. Read it in school and loved it then. Read it some time since and loved it again. And I still love it.